MINNEAPOLIS >> Sylvia Fowles had 21 points and nine rebounds and the Minnesota Lynx evened the best-of-5 WNBA Finals at one game apiece with a 77-71 victory over the Indiana Fever on Tuesday night.

Fowles made 10 of 13 shots and Maya Moore added 19 points and eight boards for the Lynx, who are looking for their third championship in the last five years.

Briann January scored 17 points and Tamika Catchings had 11 points, nine rebounds and five assists for the Fever, who nearly won their second straight game on the road to open this rematch of the 2012 series won by Indiana.

Game 3 is Friday night in Indianapolis.

Seimone Augustus scored 11 points on 5-for-14 shooting and the Lynx outscored the Fever 21-8 on second-chance points after losing that category 22-12 in the opener.

With Fowles’ size too much for Indiana to handle down low, the Lynx played with a desperation that was fitting after they got bullied in the opener. The Fever took Game 1 of the series in 2012 to lay the groundwork for the run to the franchise’s first championship, and the Lynx knew a 2-0 deficit would be incredibly difficult to overcome.

They trailed by eight points in the third quarter, but when Catchings had to go to the bench with her fifth foul, they pounced.

Just 2 for 7 in the first 25 minutes of the game, Moore scored six points in under two minutes, assisted on two more buckets and grabbed a key rebound off of a missed free throw to spark a 17-5 run that closed the third quarter and gave the Lynx a 63-59 lead.

Moore scored eight of Minnesota’s 14 points in the fourth quarter to push Indiana back, and the Lynx escaped with new life.

Just like Game 1, every time the Lynx looked to be gaining momentum, the Fever pushed right back. A 13-5 run at the end of the first half put Minnesota in front, but reserve Maggie Lucas converted a four-point play seconds before the buzzer to give Indiana a 41-39 lead at the break.

Catchings scored nine points in the first six minutes of the second half to push Indiana’s lead to eight before Moore finally got going.

While the rest of her team struggled through the first 24 minutes, Fowles stood tall in the paint. She made nine of her first 11 shots and held down the fort before Moore got going.

Catchings was playing in her 64th career playoff game, tying Taj McWilliams-Franklin for most in WNBA history.

Despite the loss, the Fever return home for Games 3 and 4 with the chance to close out the series without having to come back to Minnesota.

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